The Mummy Review

The Mummy review.

One year after creating an iconic screen monster in James Whale’s Frankenstein, Boris Karloff returned to star in a different kind of monster movie for Universal. The Mummy launched a franchise of countless sequels, remakes and reimaginings. Although this would be the only entry of The Mummy to star Karloff, it added another classic to his résumé.

Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.

The Mummy

Directed by Karl Freund

Screenplay by John L. Balderston

Starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron

The Mummy Review

Boris Karloff starred in the two best Universal Classic Monster movies. In between his turns as The Monster in James Whale’s Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein he found his way to another top tier entry for the studio. The Mummy sets the bar for a long series of mummy-based movies that will fail to reach it.

Centuries after being buried alive, Imhotep (Karloff) is resurrected. Disguised as a modern Egyptian man, Imhotep searches for the reincarnation of his lost love Ankh-esen-amun (Johann). After meeting Helen (Johann), a half Egyptian who looks like his princess, Imhotep plots to kill, mummify and resurrect her so they can be together forever.

The story of The Mummy is one you’ve seen many times. Karloff is what makes it work here. He’s a monster with a horrific plan. Like his more famous Monster, however, Karloff doesn’t make it that simple. Imhotep acts in the name of love…and of loss. Karloff opens the window on Imhotep’s pain and gives us a monster…but one we can understand.

Karloff’s mummy isn’t the stereotypical bandaged version. We would see that in the rest of the Universal series. Following Karloff’s bow as Imhotep the series would shift to a mummy named Kharis (played first by Tom Tyler then three times by Lon Chaney Jr.). Kharis is the bandage wrapped monster who became a Halloween staple. Karloff’s Imhotep is something better.

We do see Imhotep wrapped in bandages briefly. His corpse dons the traditional garb when he is untombed. A tremendous flashback of Imhotep being wrapped against his will and buried alive shows off the classic look. Once he is brought back to life, Karloff ditches the wrapping and blends into society. It makes his Mummy more interesting. He’s not a mummy…he’s something unique. And alone.

The desire of a monster to find his mate is well trodden territory. What sets The Mummy apart is that Imhotep was trying to resurrect Ankh-esen-amun when he was alive for the first time in ancient Egypt. Upon reawakening in then present day…his quest continues. His love for Ankh-esen-amun cost him his life…transcended his death…and continued into his second chance.

Upon finding the woman he believes to be the reincarnation of his love…we understand why Imhotep acts as he does. We feel his longing because Karloff is a master of expression. Imhotep will elminate anything in his path to reunite with Ankh-esen-amun. He uses his powers to control others and exact his plan. He returned without a soul because the men that condemned him destroyed the piece of his sarcophagus meant to protect it to doom him in the afterlife. The Mummy shows us that losing your soul but keeping a heart is a deadly combination. It also means that the Imhotep that emerges into the modern world isn’t totally at fault for his actions. He didn’t create this version himself.

Helen saves herself by recalling her past life as Ankh-esen-amun and praying to the goddess Isis for help. The statue of Isis destroys the scroll of resurrection and breaks its spell over Imhotep. He turns to dust painfully close to reuniting with Ankh-esen-amun. Despite the monster getting what he deserves…this is a tragic ending.

Imhotep had succeeded in finding his love’s reincarnated form. Without his soul, Imhotep lacked the conscience necessary to act as his former self might have done. Cursed by the desire for an eternal mate. Someone just like him that will live forever in a space between life and death.

One would suspect an ensouled Imhotep wouldn’t be looking to kill and resurrect Helen against her will. The true Imhotep and the monster Imhotep both loved Ankh-esen-amun. They both want to resurrect her. They both act out of love and longing. But the monster Imhotep lacks the empathy to care about what’s right and wrong in a way that we have no reason to believe represents the true Imhotep. And the true Imhotep didn’t choose to have his soul taken from him. Killed and damned for trying to bring back his love. The damned version killed because his love could no longer recognize him for what he had become.

Scare Value

The Mummy has a deeper, more dramatic story than the rest of the Mummy series. To be fair it’s basically just Dracula with a different monster…but the series keeps using it over to varying degrees of success. Almost 70 years later Universal would build a big budget action movie around the same plot and get a whole new franchise. As for our review of the original The Mummy? It’s timeless.

4/5